I mentioned before that I would be posting more information about our wedding. Today, I just so happened to come across a video of one of the performers that we had for entertainment after the ceremony. Lee Mai, a juggler from Louisville, Kentucky, was absolutely amazing and I’m forever grateful for his presence on our special day! Him + other performers took their time while “warming up” to allow the kidlets play with their flow toys and show them some little tricks. I’ll share more entertainers that were in attendance in the very near future. For now, check out his first video that he did in one take:

This video was filmed at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY. It was done in one take, with minimal edits. Video credit goes to my good friend Ben James. Background music is “Ritual Howl” by Shigeto. Props used are Henry Pirouette Grips, and “wiffle ball russians” crafted by Eric Sipos.

My son is now 10 + has always been home schooled. My daughter, however, went to public school for kindergarten + first grade. When she completed her first grade year this past June, we began home schooling her over the summer as a trial run. We wanted to make sure she would adjust well + actually enjoy being taught at home. I wanted it to be an option for her; she adjusted well and home schooling in a one-on-one setting is working great.

Having both of the kidlets home now is a blessing. Over the summer, Elijah read over 60 books! Nevaeh read almost 30; which is FANTASTIC considering that the public school she had just been pulled from considered her “developmentally delayed”. This year, we have been able to find a lot of great free materials to use in our homeschool.

Math and Language arts are completed individually since they are on different levels. For these we use workbooks that we actually have picked up from Aldi’s and the Dollar Tree. For math, we are also testing out a new website A+ Tutor Soft. It has lesson plans for each grade level as well as teacher guides and assessment tests. Alieo Games is another new site that we have began using for creative writing. To give it a try, sign up + use coupon code FIRSTYEARFREE for an unlimited trial until August 31st 2016!

Social Studies + Science comes in many forms. Netflix documentaries which I get a lot of great ideas from a FB Group called “Homeschooling with Netflix”. We also use Kids Discover Free Lesson Plans which includes student pages and teacher guides. And lastly, we will begin using Elementary Life Science from the Lab of Mr. Q starting in January 2016. The kids have a workbook called “The Map Book” that they have learned 30 of the 50 states + capitals since mid-August. Next we’ll work on the Presidents of the US, before moving on to other countries.

If you are a homeschool family, what curriculum materials are you using this year?

One of the most recent highlights of our homeschooling adventures has been volunteering at a local animal shelter. While I go in to photograph the animals looking for adopters or rescue, the kidlets have been reading to the dogs + cats. This helps to keep the furbabies socialized and in better spirits, rather than being cooped up in the kennels on their lonesome for too long. I enjoy seeing them read and cuddle with the animals; and the kids know that they are showing the furbabies that there are humans that do still care.

UPDATE: I shared this info with some friends on facebook. A few days later, I was thrilled to even see that another homeschool family in another state has began going in to their local shelter to do the same!

I made this Skylander Superchargers birthday cake for my little mans “first decade birthday”. I used three Pillsbury box cake mixes and two frostings, that I added gel food coloring. The sides are Kit Kat bars and a Hershey’s bar bridge. I really should have taken photos of the process, but it was actually much more simpler to do than it looked. It was definitely a hit with him and his friends!

Yep, you read that correct. I’m now a newly wedded wife! I haven’t blogged much recently due to the fact that we were planning the wedding and had a few other family related things going on, such as pulling my daughter from public school and getting her adjusted to being homeschooled as well as her illnesses that seem to be due to a gluten sensitivity and high histamine levels. Now that those things are out of the way and we are back to a normal-to-us routine, I will be back to blogging on a regular basis again. Look for a post in the near future on how we pulled off our inexpensive wedding with some DIY tutorials and great friends/family!

Guess what my favorite time of the month is? Meal prepping! Due to this routine I have found myself in, we have begun saving a significant amount of money (and time) on groceries. If we were to cut out all the soda, we’d be down to about $200 a month on food for our family of three! That’s without couponing and all from planning, prepping and choosing items wisely. Today, I’m going to share with you a quick version of my meal prep days.

PLANNING

Create your menu. Make a list of all the meals that you wish to have in your time frame, whether it’s a week, two weeks or a full month. I have a set list for breakfast + lunches that I use repeatedly with the basics. Oatmeal, cereal, pancake mix, syrup, bacon, eggs, etc for breakfast. Mac-n-cheese, sandwiches, soups, etc for lunch.) Dinners I whip up depending on the season, our schedule and what we are in the mood for. Remember to add snacks or desserts as well, if you choose.

Make your grocery list. Add all the ingredients you will need for your menu. I’m quite OCD about my lists, so I go as far as sorting the ingredients by the sections of the store. Make your list to suite you.

Go shopping. If you coupon on a regular basis, then you can save a lot more than I do. I choose to clip coupons only when I have the time, when I know it’s something I use or if I want to try a new product out. Make sure to get everything on your list first, as this is to be used for your menu. I compare prices of different brands + sizes, then choose what’s best for me. Just in doing this and preparing ahead of time, I have cut our grocery bill from $450 a month down to $250 currently.

PREPPING

Label packaging. I take a moment to label freezer bags with the name of the recipe and quick cooking instructions (such as Chicken + Dumplings – Crockpot on High for 8 hours. Shred + add biscuits pieces. Cook additional 1 hour.). If I have a monthly list and have two of the same recipe, I go ahead and label two separate bags.

Cut, chop + dice. All your veggies, fruits, cheeses, etc that need to be cut, chopped or diced, should be completed first. I add these to the bags that I labeled as I go.

Add the meats. I clean up my area after finishing up with all the veggies, fruits and cheeses. I get all my meats out and work with them one at a time, cleaning up after each type of meat. Some recipes call for ground hamburger, so I go ahead and cook large amounts at a time for multiple recipes. This takes some time out from cooking before each meal. Once cooled, I can separate it and place into the bags needed. Some meats you only have to trim the fat and some need to be cut into slices or bite sized pieces, depending on recipes.

Add condiments + seasonings. Now, according to your recipes, place the last condiments + seasonings into the bags. This can include anything from honey mustard, ketchup, bbq sauces, garlic + herb marinades, seasoning packets, salt + pepper, garlic powder, etc. If the recipe calls for small amounts of liquids, I add them at this time as well. If the recipe calls for a larger amount of liquid (about 2 cups or more) remember to add that to the label on the bag so you can add it when you cook that meal.

Store your prepped meals. Most of my meals are freezer to crockpot or one-pan oven dishes. So I lay the freezer bags flat and stack them in a nice fashion to take up less space. I also have a “no touch” drawer for the fridge. I put everything needed for meals that are prepped in here that needs to be cold. I have a shelf specifically for canned/boxed items like this as well. Everything else in the house is free to be used as snacks.

ENJOY

After planning + prepping (usually takes me one day of planning + two days of prep work), I can sit back and relax. Every night, I pull out the next nights dinner to defrost. Most are able to be tossed into the crockpot frozen if I happen to forget. The one-pan oven meals I tend to pull to defrost two nights before.

I prepped 20 dinner meals (list below), on my last prepping session. Since the first of the year, I haven’t spent more than 15 minutes “cooking” in the kitchen at all, excluding 2-3 prep days a month. I absolutely love saving time!

Freezer to Crockpot Meals prepped:

2 x Chicken Fajitas

2 x Chicken + Dumplins

2 x Garlic + Herb Pork Chops

4 x BBQ Ribs

1 BBQ Dr. Pepper Chicken

One-Pan Oven Meals Prepped:

2 x Hamburger for Spagetti

4 x Hamburgers

3 x One Pan Chicken Bake

NEXT TIME

My next post for meal prepping will include what I do for breakfasts and lunches. Soon enough, I’ll add the recipes and sample menu plan that I use for dinners as well.